Marvel's Agent Carter: "Now is Not the End" Review

Agent Carter is something special. There is talk, recently, of “Marvel fatigue,” what with so much content rolling out from the Disney-owned studios year after year. But Agent Carter is unlike everything else.
It does not exist to serve Marvel’s blockbuster Avengers films; it isn’t part of some multi-phase plan. In its pilot episode, the creative team wastes no time in establishing that Agent Carter exists outside the shadow of the movies that spawned it, thanks to a solid cast; a focused, fast-paced script; and a fairly high production value.

Hayley Atwell reprises her Captain America role as the titular Agent Carter. In the opening scenes, we see the show pick up where film left off in 1946. Carter is mourning the loss of her lover, Steve Rogers, but the Captain America influences end there. Carter works with the Strategic Science Reserve, what will someday become S.H.I.E.L.D., and it doesn’t take long before she is thrust into the middle of a dangerous plot.

To prove her worth in the historically male-dominated work force of the 40s, Carter embarks on a mission to unmask the elusive group called Leviathan which was responsible for stealing Stark technology. Dominic Cooper reprises his role as Howard Stark, and the two have excellent chemistry. Stark leaves her with his butler, Edwin Jarvis, performed by James D’Arcy, and despite a few ridiculous lines, D’Arcy’s interpretation of the character is a lot of fun to watch.

Agent Carter excels exceptionally in its script. With ABC having only ordered eight episodes for the season, the plot must needs be tight and focused. In the first episode, Carter’s roommate is murdered by a shadowy assassin, and this causes her to distance herself from others. The script makes it very clear that this is the character arc we’re going to see played out over the season (and one that becomes much more prominent in the second episode).

If an exceptional cast and intelligent, fast-paced script were not enough, Agent Carter also succeeds in production value. I loved the beautiful establishing shots of 1940s New York and several sets felt appropriately noir. You can really tell that ABC put a lot of love and care into fully realizing the time period. Even Carter’s spy toys are old school! Watching her use primitive spy tech is really fun to watch.

You know what else was fun to watch? Combat via stapler. Seeing her fight the goon at the night club and later the assassin in her kitchen demonstrated how well she can hold her own in a fight. It’s a man’s world in Agent Carter, but that doesn’t mean she’s not a force to be reckoned with!

Agent Carter is like listening to classical music after being stuck in a car playing Top 40; it is a fun, fast-paced romp that exists in a beloved universe but does not conform to it. The first episode proves these statements through a cast that has already fully realized its characters, a script that is clever and keeps the action moving forward, and a high production value that reminds us that Marvel has some of the top entertainment creators in the business.